Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerEdariel "Riddick" Melendez is an Elizabeth man who was 19, when he allegedly shot middle schooler Elijah Henderson to death in 2007. Melendez appears in Union County Superior Court in Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH — The mother and girlfriend of a man on trial for two fatal shootings in Elizabeth each testified he was home when both homicides occurred.

But during closing arguments today in the trial of Edariel "Riddick" Melendez, a 22-year-old alleged member of the Crips gang accused of gunning down a middle school boy and another victim days later in 2007, Assistant Prosecutor Bruce Holmes argued their stories were inconsistent.

The eighth-grader was fatally shot and his friend was injured because one of the boys had been wearing a dark jacket that resembled the one worn by a Bloods gang member their attackers were targeting, a witness for the state testified.

Both boys also happened to be wearing the color red, associated with the Bloods gang, Holmes said today.

The jury will begin deliberating on Monday in the trial of Melendez, who faces charges of murder and conspiracy in both homicides. Authorities say he and a second alleged Crip charged in the killings, Bryant "Smoke" Lee, had mistakenly believed the boys and a man shot days later, 54-year-old Celso Pedra, belonged to the rival Bloods gang.

Tempers erupted outside the courtroom today, the final day of an emotionally tense, three-week trial attended by relatives of both the victims and defendant. A loud verbal altercation broke out between Melendez’s girlfriend, Cassandra Graham, and Elijah’s mother, Jacqueline Purdie, which was broken up by a sheriff’s officer.

Graham, the 20-year-old mother of Melendez’s baby, had testified she was sleeping beside Melendez in his bedroom during the early hours of Nov. 12, when Elijah was killed.

"I know he didn’t leave," she told the jury.

The defendant’s mother, Aracelis Melendez, agreed. The women also testified Melendez was home the morning of Nov. 14, when Pedra was shot.

Holmes argued their stories don’t add up. While Melendez’s mother said he was getting ready for work the morning of Nov. 14, his girlfriend testified he had slept in because it was a state holiday. Melendez’s mother testified she did not know her son belonged to the Crips, prompting Holmes to ask why she admitted to police in 2008 that her son was a Crip.

During his closing argument today, defense attorney Fredric Pearson described Melendez’s mother as "a woman who goes to church every Sunday." He reiterated that the boys who were with Elijah when he was killed could not identify the gunman.

Another witness described Elijah’s attackers as two black men, Pearson said, and the dying Pedra told his wife the two shooters he glimpsed were "dark" — unlike Melendez, who is a light-skinned Puerto Rican.

Holmes said Melendez formerly wore his hair in long braids, which may have led witnesses to infer he was black. It doesn’t matter whether Melendez or Lee held the gun, Holmes argued: both are guilty of the killings.

"He’s responsible, morally and legally," the assistant prosecutor said of Melendez.